Sins and Follies of our Lives, and the Defects which may be chargeable even upon our Former Exercises of Repentance itfelf? If it be found, after all Past Instances of Humiliation, that Worldly Men have still Relapsed into their Eager Love and Purfuits of the things of the World; The Drunkard and Glutton, into his Intemperance and Excefs; The Impure, into his Pollutions; the Proud and Supercilious, into his wonted High Efteem of Himfelf, and Contempt, or Neglect of Others; The Paffionate and Boisterous, into their Ufual Forgetfulness of Themselves, and Indulgence of their Tumultuous Paffions; The Slothful and Negligent in the Duties of Religion, into their former Laziness and Remiffness; the Hypocrite, into his Old Tricks of Falfecolouring and Mifrepresentation, retiring within his Cover'd Ways, and running the Fatal Rounds of Pretence and Disguise; The Factious, Prejudiced, and Partial, into his Inveterate Spirit of Faction, Prejudice and Divifion; The Uncharitable and Unmerciful, into his Cuftomary, Impious Difregard to the Miseries of his Brethen; Brethren: If in Thefe, or, any other Inftances of Iniquity, it be found, that, after all our Faftings and Humiliations, Sighs and Tears, Vows and Refolutions, we are ftill the very Same Men, have ftill run Back into the Dominion of the very Same Paffions, and Allowance of the Same Vicious Practices, as Before, we may Hence draw this Afflicting and Woful Confequence for our felves, That we are ftill Obnoxious to the Indignation of our Maker, we are ftill to Begin the great Work of our Repentance Afresh, and to Humble our felves before God, even for the Inefficacy and Unfruitfulness of our Former Humiliations before Him. Whofoever is in this Unhappy Cafe, fhould obey the Prophet's Injunction, and Indeed Rent his Heart, under this Reflexion, That All he hath hitherto done, fignifies nothing; For All does fignify nothing, if he hath ftill fallen off from his Holy Purposes, if he hath ftill returned to his former Sinful Courses, and be still Swayed and Governed by his Unruly Paffions, of what Kind foever they be. Let every such Person mourn, as One who will not be Comforted; Will not? Cannot be, otherwise, comforted, than under the Hopes of God's Mercy, upon the Condition of that Repentance, which is ftill to be Perform'd, and which he must Begin with the Profoundest Sorrow, if he would have it Terminate in the Perfection of Joy. Let us no longer dare to Trifle with God, and Deceive our Selves. Nothing can render Him Propitious to Us, but the Faithful Discharge of our Duty to Him. May therefore the Sincerity of our Repentance effectually recommend us to his Mercy and Favour This Day, and may every fucceeding Day of our Lives be a New Proof of That Sincerity. 2. 'Tis our Duty, to Deteft and Bewail the Sins of Other Perfons, and to Deprecate that Divine Vengeance, which may justly fall upon the Kingdom, on account of Their Sins, or, our Own. In a Future State indeed, no Body fhall be hurt by any Man's Sins, but Himself. The Proper Weight of Punishment Due to every Man's Guilt, will be laid upon his own Perfon Alone. But this Rule does not hold good, in all the Distributions of Punishment, in This State. Nations and Communities, as fuch, do finally Diffolve and Cease in This World; And therefore, as fuch, they are to be Rewarded and Punished Here, or not at all. And, when God fends a General Calamity upon a Nation, Those who have Provoked him to it, are not the Only Sufferers by it; Their Neighbours are diftreffed, as well as Themfelves, who have been the Cause of fuch Distress. And This is One Weighty Reason of our Detefting and Bewailing other Mens Sins, and of Proving the Reality of this Deteftation and Sorrow, by bearing our Teftimony against them, upon all Proper Occafions: 'Tis a Reafon abundantly Sufficient to justify our being fo highly concern'd for the Iniquities and Abominations of our Fellow-Citizens and Countreymen, as to teftify that Concern, no lefs by Exhorting or Reproving them, as Circumstances Require, than by Mourning and Praying for them. But But fo Injudicious, and Injurious are Wicked Men, as to account fuch Reproof and Exhortations, the Effects of a Meddling and Impertinent Spirit. In the Defence even of their Blafphemy, their Burlesques upon God and Religion, and, to ufe St. Jude's Words, of all their hard Speeches, which Ungodly Sinners have fpoken against the Lord, they are wont to exprefs Themselves, in much the fame way, as Those Haughty Scorners, who are introduced by the Pfalmift, faying, * With our Tongue will we prevail; our Lips are our own, who is Lord over us? They are apt to fay, and to fay it with Virulency enough, That no Man hath any thing to do with Them, or Their Behaviour: And whofoever Concerns himself with Them, is Petulant, and Affected, and Phantastical. Happy indeed would it be for Humane Society, if the Truth of this their Obfervation were but equal to the Acrimony of it. But the Advantages, or the Misfortunes, the Joys, or the Sorrows of all * Pfal. xii. 4. the |